The Toxic Avenger
Macon Blair's slick remake of the Troma classic is not without its grubby charms, but its sub-Deadpool meta gags don't satisfy, and the whole thing feels a little bit sanitised
Some things only work because they go too far. The Terrifier movies brought splatter horror back by taking a knife to the heart of good taste and then wiggling it around. Early seasons of The Boys effectively satirised the superhero genre by stripping it naked and exposing its unsavoury parts. The Toxic Avenger tries both these things but never goes far enough with either to seriously shock, surprise or meaningfully subvert.
Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) is a struggling, single stepfather who scrapes a living as a janitor for a corrupt 'healthstyle' company. When a freak accident turns him into a green-skinned mutant, he decides to turn his mop on the true filth of society – starting with his sleazy boss, Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon).
The Toxic Avenger is not without its grungy charms. Its weird, fetid world features some fun details, like a group of masked assassins who daylight as a 'monstercore' band. And Dinklage is always a delight, delivering absurd lines with thespian gravitas and displaying an almost Brian Cox-ian talent for swearing.
But he’s not given an awful lot to work with. The film’s humour is a mixture of sub-Deadpool meta gags and easy-target satire. There’s nothing particularly daring or dangerous about the film, and while the largely practical effects are enjoyably old-school, the action sequences they’re deployed in service of aren’t all that inspired. The whole thing ends up feeling just a little bit sanitised – a piece of outsider art made safe for more mainstream audiences.
The Toxic Avenger has its UK premiere at EIFF on 19 & 20 Aug, and is released in the UK 29 Aug by Signature; certificate 18